Collapsible tube dispensing device having rockable tube-engaging members



1951 CF. NELSON ETAL COLLAPSIBLE TUBE DISPENSING DEVICE HAVING ROCKABLE TUBE-ENGAGING MEMBERS Filed Dec. 17, 1948 Patented Nov. 13 1 951 Q L P BLE UBE DISP NS NG. DEVICE. HAVING RQO KABLE 'TUBEENG'AGING MB RS GarlE- N lsen, Mi l V le a dVernenA. Nelson, Oakland, Calif.

Applicationl'iecember 17, 194 8, Serial-No. 65,758 4.01am... 01. na -1'03) I Our present invention relates tea collapsible tube. supportingand contents extruding device and more particularly. 'to a device that may be attached to the wall of a bathroom forathe convenient. dispensing. of toothpaste or. other like.

commodities, andv ithas, forzits object, the provision of anew and practical arrangement by which the contents of a collapsible: tube may be extruded in-a simple, cleanand convenientmanner.

Another object of our invention is to provide an: improved collapsible tube supporting device by-which the entire contentsof a collapsible tube may be discharged in required quantities without a handling of the tube on the part of the user.

Another. object ofour invention is to provide a new and novel form of gripping and holding means for a collapsible tube contents-dispenser.

In the use of toothpaste and shaving creams suchv asare dispensed. in collapsible tubes the tubes generally become distorted-and. unsightly and often diflicult to locate. It is therefore a further object of our invention to providea combined collapsible tube supporting and extrusion producing means. that'may be used to support a collapsible tube with its: contents in a convenient location where the contents thereof" may be dispensed directly. upona brush. or the like, in a simple and convenient manner.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be in part evident to those skilled in the art and in. part pointed outin connection with the accompanying. drawing, wherein there is shown by way ofillustrationand not of limitation a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Inthe drawing;

Figure 1 isa front viewof a device constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofour invention,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, with the toothbrushesindicated bydot and dash lines,

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the device, as shown in Figure 1 of the-drawing, with the tooth brushes removed,

Figure. 4 is a fragmentary and perspective view of the neck clamping spring-meansemployedin accordance with our invention,

Figures 5' and 6 are fragmentary sectional views showing positions of the parts at various stages of operation, and

Figure '7 is a fragmentary side view partially in section showing a modified form of our device.

While our. device may be constructedentirely of metal we have: in. the. accompanying drawing disposed. As is. morev clearly shown in Figure 2.

; face of: the collapsible tube 22. To. returnv "the.

. 2 shown. an. embodiment in which. all. of the; par can. be formed'of a plastic material.

different parts of the device. main supporting bracket, designated by the nu: meral l0, isshown as having an inverted. key hole slot lzl by.which it may be hungby. a nail orscrew. upon a wall and at each side there is shown outwardly. extending pin 12 upon whichtoothbrushes l3 may be suspended for convenient use. with, the device. Fixed. upon and disposed out,- wardly from and in. uniformly spacedv relation with the bracket l0 there is a strap-like. member that provides a guideway or rail l4. along, which.

a carriage member I5.moves, as. will. hereinafter. appear. This carriage member l5. supports apair of. oppositely disposed rocker-like members. 16 and I! that are respectively mountedupon the carriage [5. by means of, transversely extending shafts l8 and. I9. At its lower end the bracket I0 is also. provided with a horizontally. extending shelf-like member 2llthat has a triangular aperture 2| through which the neck of a collapsible tube 22 may be extended to dispose the tube, 22-

in an inverted position. Associated with this shelf-like member. 20. there is a double bowed spring 23 which is adapted to engage the neck of the collapsibletube 22 and holditincooperat-u ing relation. with the rocker-like members l6, and.

ll of the carriage member l5.

As is more clearly shown in Figures 2 and, 3 of:

the drawing the guide-Way, M, is disposed out: wardly from the bracket I0: at a distancesumcient to provide a clearance for the base portion ofthe carriage. l5 which is substantially of U-shape. with its ends projecting outwardly in parallel} relation at opposite sides of thestrap-like member which forms the guide-way I4. In these fig-.

so as to provide a space between the rocker-likemembers I6 and I! into. which the body portion of a collapsible paste dispensing tube may be of the drawing the rocker-like member It has an outwardly extending lever 25 with a thumb pad 26 through which pressure may be applied to rock the rocker-like member I6 about its transversely extending pivotal axis and bring it into pressure exerting. relation against the outer ear- With. this material a very. ornamentalv device can. be made up by using plastics of different colors forythe; The backing or.-

3 rocker-like member I5 to its normal inoperative position, the transversely extending shaft I8 upon which the rocker-like member I6 is fixed has a torsion spring 21 that is fixed at its outer end to one side of the carriage member I5 so as to bias this shaft I8 in a clockwise direction. As distinguished from the rocker-like member I6, the rocker-like member I1 is free to turn freely with its supporting shaft I9 so as to permit its intermediate angularly disposed flat surface to turn into cooperation with the corresponding flat surface of the member I6 when pressure is applied to the lever 25. The construction of the rocker-like member I! is such that an over-balancing weight with respect to the shaft I9 is established. This will cause the member II to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction when released. Normally this rocker-like member I! will assume the position shown in Figure 5 and thus permit the carriage I5 to advance downwardly over the collapsible tube 22 as its contents is extruded therefrom. As a means for limiting the rocking movement of the member I'I there are two inwardly projecting stops 28 and 29 that extend inwardly from the side walls 24 of the carriage I5.

Reference is now made to Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing for a more detailed description of the captivating means which is relied upon to hold the collapsible tube 22 in its verticalposition between the cooperating rocker-like members I6 .and I! as above outlined. In these showings it 'will be noted that the aperture 2| in the shelflike member 29 is substantially of triangular .shape with its apex disposed outwardly and centrally with respect to the bracket III. This aperture 2| may be made sufiiciently large to permit insertion of a tube with its cap thereupon or it :may be only large enough to permit the insertion of the neck of the tube with its cap removed. In :either event the neck of the tube will project lbelow the shelf 20 a distance suflicient to permit the application of a cap 30 thereto. The double ibowed spring 23 is hingedly mounted upon the \outersurface of the guide-way I4 by a cleat 3| as indicated in Figure 1, and its bowed ends are brought out from the top of the shelf 20 downwardly through the aperture 2| and crossed with-' in this aperture in such a manner that the extending ends of the spring 23 will engage with the underside of the shelf 20. In this way the crossed ends of the spring 23 will be held in cooperating relation against the neck of the collapsible tube 22. As is more clearly illustrated in Figure 4 the outer ends of the double bowed spring 23, designated by the numeral 32 in Figure 4 of the drawing, are bent out at a right angle so as toprovide a finger rest by which they may be compressed to release the'neck of an empty tube 22 and permit the insertion of a new tube.

While it is believed that the operation of our.

improved device will be fully understood in the above; reference is now made to Figures 5 and 6 of the drawing for a more detailed description as to how the rocker-like members I6 and Il cooperate with each other and engage the walls of a partially flattened tube when in operation. Normally the vertically movable carriage member I5 will drop downwardly until the intermediate surfaces of the rocker-like members I6 and I! have become engaged with the outwardly flaring sides of the partially flattened collapsible, tube 22 and when in this position it will be understood that as pressure is applied to the rocker-like member I6 through an operation of the lever 25, the rock;

er-like member I6 will be turned counter-clockwise about the pivotal axis provided by the shaft I8 and cause its intermediate fiat surface to travel inwardly and upwardly against the partially fiattened wall of the tube at its point of engagement therewith. At the same time because of the spacing between the rockerelike members I6 and II, as therocker-like member I6 rotates counterclockwise it will transmit a force through the tube 22 to the rocker-like member I! which will cause this latter member to turn in a clockwise direction about the pivotal axis formed by its supporting shaft I9. As a result of this the two flat intermediate surfaces of the rocker-like members I6 and I1 will be progressively brought into parallel relation with each other at a point where the walls of the tube will be flattened into close contact with each other. This will cause the contents of the tube 22 positioned therebetween to be squeezed toward the neck of the tube. In this operation it will be understood that the two flattened intermediate surfaces of the rocker.- like members will first pinch the tube 22 at a point near their upper edges and away'fromthe open end of the tube and as a result there will be no danger of the paste or other commodity carried by the tube being forced back into the bottom of the tube.

In connection with the above described deviceranged that when fully compressed they will as- In Figure '7 of the drawing there is shown a modified form of the invention in which the cooperating rocker-like members are provided with transversely extending flutes which for a portion of their movement are adapted to interact much in the manner of a pair of opposed gears. In this arrangement the vertical movable carriage I5, similar to that above described, is shown as having an outer rocker-like member 33 that is provided with an operating lever 34 which has a thumb pad 35 by which pressure may be applied to operate the device. 33 has a fluted surface 36 that is eccentric at its upper end and then concentric with respect to a shaft 31 upon which it is mounted and biased by means of a torsion spring in a manner similar to that employed upon the previously described embodiment of the invention. Cooperating with the rocker-like member 33 there is a second rocker-like member 38 which is provided with a'fiuted surface 39 that is likewise arranged concentric with respect to a supporting shaft MI. With this arrangement it will be seen that as the lever 34 is forced downwardly the fluted surfaces 36 and 39 of the rocker-like members 33 and 38 will tend to become intermeshed and thus progressively squeeze the collapsible tube 22 for a predetermined distance. During this operation the trailing flutes of these two rocker-like members will serve to crimp the walls of the tube as they progress thereover and when the lever 34 is released the carriage l5 will drop down and re-engage the collapsible tube 22 at a new point as determined tity of the contents of the collapsible tube 22 may be extruded in a step by step fashion as the lever 34 is operatedas above indicated. In otherwords This rocker-like member.

the partially collapsible portion of the collapsible tube 22 will be shaped or formed for a more full engagement by the flutes of the rocker-like members 33 and 38 as the carriage moves downwardly with respect thereto.

While we have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose the invention so that th same can be readily understood, described and illustrated specific devices and arrangements, we desire to have it understood that this invention is not limited to the specific means disclosed, but may be embodied in other ways that will suggest themselves to person skilled in the art. It is believed that this invention is new and all such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be considered as part of this invention. 7

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a toothpaste dispensing device of the character described, the combination of a supporting bracket, means carried by said bracket for gripping the neck of a collapsible tube and positioning it in an inverted vertical position, a vertically moveable support mounted upon said bracket for movement along the body of an inverted collapsible tube secured by its neck upon said bracket, a free floating pivotally mounted tube engaging member against which the closed end of a collapsible tube may be disposed, a second pivotally mounted tube engaging member spaced from said first tube engaging member and adapted to engage with the other side of a tube at a point farther removed from said tube neck gripping means, each of said tube engaging members being mounted to pivot about horizontally disposed axes and having cooperating flat angularly disposed surfaces, and a lever means through which pressure may be applied to said second tube engaging member and cause said tube engaging members to pivot about their respective axes, whereby the angularly disposed surfaces of said tube engaging members will be progressively brought into pinching relation with the walls of a tube positioned therebetween.

2. In a toothpaste dispensing device of the character described, the combination of a supporting bracket, means carried by said bracket for engaging the neck of a collapsible tube and positioning it in an inverted position, a vertically movable support mounted upon said bracket for movement along the body of a collapsible tube secured by its neck upon said bracket, a pair of spaced rocker-like members between which the body of the collapsible tube may be disposed, said rocker-like members each being mounted to rock about a horizontally extending axis at opposite sides of the tube when positioned therebetween and having flat angularly extending surfaces disposed at difierent distances from their axes and adapted to be brought progressively into pinching relation with the walls of a collapsible tube, and a lever extending outwardly from one of said rocker-like members by which pressure may be applied to cause the angularly extending fiat surfaces of each of said rocker-like members to be brought progressively into pinching relation with the walls of a tube positioned therebetween.

3. In a toothpaste dispensing device of the character described, the combination of a supporting bracket, means carried by said bracket for engaging the neck of a collapsible tube and positioning it in an inverted position thereupon, a support slidably mounted upon said bracket for movement along the body of a collapsible tube secured by its neck upon said bracket, a pair of spaced rocker-like members each having a plurality of fiat surfaces disposed angularly with respect to each other and between which the body of a collapsible tube may be disposed, one of said rocker-like members being pivotally mounted upon an axis transverse to the axis of said tube and located at one end thereof and the other of said'rocker-like members being pivotally mounted upon a transverse axis substantially centrally thereof and below the axis of said other rockerlike member, whereby the angularly disposed surfaces of said rocker-like members will be brought progressively into a pinching relation with the walls of a collapsible tube as said first rocker-like member is turned about its axis, and a lever means extending outwardly from said first rocker-like member through which an operating force may be applied thereto.

4. In a toothpaste dispensing device of the character described, the combination of a supporting bracket, a vertically movable support slidably mounted upon said bracket for movement along the body of the collapsible tube secured by its neck upon said bracket, a pair of spaced rocker-like members each having tube engaging surfaces between which the body of a collapsible tube may be disposed, one of said rocker-like members being pivotally mounted at one end upon an axis transverse to the axis of said tube and the other of said rocker-like members being pivotally mounted substantially centrally thereof upon a transverse axis to one side of and below the axis of said other rocker-like member, whereby said rocker-like members will be brought progressively into pinching relation with the walls of a collapsible tube as first rocker-like member is turned about its axis, a lever means extending outwardly from said first rocker-like member through which a rocking force may be applied thereto, and means carried by said bracket for gripping the neck of a collapsible tube to dispose and hold the body of the tube in cooperating relation with said rocker-like members.

CARL F. NELSON. VERNER A. NELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,566,732 Carruthers Dec. 22, 1925 1,617,917 Lawton Feb. 15, 1927 1,906,911 Lippert May 2, 1933 1,979,105 Hamish Oct. 30, 1934 2,491,161 Campbell Dec. 13, 1949 2,509,518 Nelson et al May 30, 1950 

